Method of packaging



United States Patent 1 3,039,245 METHOD OF PACKAGING Robert M. Jones,Edgeworth, Pa. (441 Leet Road, Sewiekley, Pa.) No Drawing. Filed Dec.21, 1959, Ser. No. 360,632 3 Claims. (CI. 53-14) This invention relatesto the boxing or packaging of individual articles or a plurality ofarticles and, more particularly, to an improved packaging method inwhich the package is first formed by means of a relatively thin orlightweight or structurally inadequate wrapper and is thereafter coatedeither in local areas or overall with a resinous substance either withor without fibrous reinforcement for the purpose of imparting thedesired strength, tear resistance andwear resistance to the package sothat it can be handled thereafter and stored or shipped withoutdisruption or breakage of the contents of the package.

One of the principal packaging means for handling, shipping or storageof articles consists of corrugated board or cartons or boxes madetherefrom. The corrugated board is generally manufactured by papermanufacturers and sold in roll or sheet form; and in many instances whensold in sheet form, it is pre-creased for forming into suitable cartons.The partially completed cartons and boxes, in many instances, are formedand sold by the paper companies or by box manufacturers, and such boxesor cartons are generally formed to particular sizes and shapes to meetthe packaging requirements of the purchaser. These boxes or cartons areformed of corrugated board of prescribed thickness or strength so as tomeet the packaging requirements of the purchaser; and in many instances,these fiber board cartons constitute the sole packaging facility for thegoods. In many instances, however, and despite the fact that corrugatedboard is manufactured in a wide variety of types, thicknesses andstrength, it is necessary to provide other reinforcing means in order toprovide a package adequate to withstand the rigors of handling, shippingand storage. In other instances, of course, the corrugated board itselfpossesses the requisite characteristics so that the cartons or packagesdo not require additional reinforcing.

in many instances, corrugated board has not been able to meet thestrength and other requirements for certain types of packages and as aconsequence, it has been used not as the primary packaging material butas a wrapper for the purpose of shielding the contents of the package.In such cases, other packaging materials have been required such as, forexample, Wooden boxes which, of course, have appreciably greaterstrength. In other instances, thin wrappers rather than corrugated boardhave been used as a preliminary wrapper and the principal packagingmaterial has been a wooden box or the like.

In still other instances, either light or heavy kraft papers andcardboards have been utilized to provide a package or a carrier forarticles. In some instances, papers of this sort have been inadequate tocarry the loads to which they are subjected and various expedients havebeen adopted in order to provide reinforcement for the packages. Evenwhere corrugated board is used for certain types of packaging, it hasbeen found necessary to utilize extremely heavy board or several pliesof board in order to provide the necessary strength to carry thesubstantial loads involved and in order to withstand the wear and tearcaused by rough handling.

One or the objectionable features of packagingvarious products incorrugated boxes is that sizeable inventories generally are required anda tremendous amount of space is necessary for the storage of the boxeseither in assembled condition or in partially assembled condition.

3,039,245 Patented June 19, 1962 The present invention provides a methodof packaging which permits the use of relatively lightweight packagingmaterials, which is cheaper than the packaging methods presentlyemployed and which eliminates the necessity of maintaining large andbulky inventories of boxes or the like. My invention provides packageswhich, although initially formed from, relatively lightweight packagingmaterials, possess the requisite strength to permit them to be handled,stored or shipped. The method which I provide also has great flexibilityin the sense that even though relatively lightweight packaging materialsare employed, a wide range of strengths can be obtained. Generallyspeaking, my invention resides in taking the material, article orarticles to be packaged and providing them with a lightweight wrappingand then coating that wrapping with a resinous material so as to impartthe necessary strength and wear resisting properties to the package. Inaccordance with my invention, the resinous material may be used eitheralone or may be reinforced with fibers of various types such as glassfibers, mineral fibers, wood fibers or any other fibrous materials whichwill impart the desired tensile or impact strength to the package.

Referring more specifically to the packaging of a plurality or articlesin accordance with my invention, the articles are gathered and arrangedtogether as they come from a production line or they can be gathered andarranged in a suitable manner at any time after coming from theproduction line. Casing or loading machines which are well known in theart may be employed for the gathering and arranging of the package. Byway of example, canned products can be gathered in lots and arranged insuitable rows. A similar layer can be placed on top of the first with orwithout separating means as industrys practice demands.

After the articles have been arranged in any suitable configuration,they may be wrapped with a thin, inexpensive wrapper which may beordinary krait paper or the like. Instead of kraft paper or thincardboard, relatively thin corrugated board may be used; but in anyevent, the primary wrapper will be of such character as to lack thenecessary strength and wear resistance for the handling, shipping orstoring of the package. Even such thin materials as plastic foils andthe like can be used as the preliminary wrapper. This preliminarywrapping or packaging may be done by hand or by any of the wrappingmachines commonly use in the art. Although, in most instances, theentire peripheral area of the goods or articles to be packaged will becovered, this is not necessarily so in all instances; but in any event,this preliminary wrapping should be coextensive with the coveragedesired for the finished package.

After this preliminary wrapping is completed, the wrapping is thencoated with a resinous substance. This coating should cover the surfaceof the wrapper and should be of such character as to impart the desiredstrength, rigidity and wearing qualities to the package. The resinouscoating and the preliminary Wrapping may be of such character that theresinous coating adheres to the surface of the preliminary wrappingalthough, in many instances, it will be desirable to utilize apreliminary wrapping and a resinous substance which are of suchcharacter that the resinous substance will impregmate the preliminarywrapping. For example, if the preliminary wrapping is a kraft paper oreven a cloth, the resinous substance will impregnate the paper or clothto some extent. However, it will be desirable in most instances toutilize materials which are of such character that the resinoussubstance will not penetrate the preliminary wrapping to asufiicient'extent to contaminate in any way the contents of the package.The coating may be applied in any convenient manner such as by spraying.

As has already been indicated, there are various applications where theentire preliminary wrapping need not be coated with the substanceresinous as sufficient strength can be imparted to the package bycoating selected areas such as the corner portions or edge portions ofthe package.

Resins have been defined as organic materials which can be easily moldedor shaped by mechanical or chemical action to give tough,non-crystalline substances that are solid at ordinary temperature. As sodefined, any resin may be used in some applications of my invention.However, it is preferable to use a resin which is liquid or can beplaced in a liquid condition at temperatures of approximately 40 to 90F. and will coagulate and harden at approximately the same temperatures.Various thermosetting resins may be used provided, of course, that thetime and temperature required for setting are relatively low.Thermoplastic resins also may be employed provided that the packages onwhich they are used will not be subjected to temperatures sufiicientlyhigh to render the resinous material tacky or of insufiicient strength.Any quick-setting resin may be used irrespective of Whether the settingis accomplished by polymerization or other chemical action or byvolatilization of a solvent or other carrier. I have found that thepolyester resins are especially useful in carrying out my invention.

As indicated above, it is frequently desirable in order to get therequisite strength to use fibers for reinforcing the resinous coating. Ihave found that Fiberglas is exceptionally good for this purpose andthat small strands of Fiberglas can be sprayed on the wrapper at thesame time that the resin is sprayed or otherwise applied to the wrapper.For example, a double-nozzle spray gun may be used for this purpose. Inaddition to glass fibers, Dacron, rayon or any cellulosic fibers can beemployed.

As will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, the thicknessof the coating will vary over a wide range depending upon the strengthdesired in the package, the type of resin used, the fibers, if any,employed, and the nature of the contents. I have found that a coating ofapproximately of an inch is satisfactory for certain applicationsutilizing a polyester resin With Fiberglas reinforcement.

While I have described a presently preferred process embodying myinvention, it should be understood that my invention may be otherwisepracticed within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A method of packaging which comprises the steps of forming a packageby enclosing the material to be wrapped in a primary wrapper of lightweight flexible packaging material having insufiicient strength toresist wear during handling and shipping, and thereafter coating atleast a part of the primary wrapper with a mixture of resinous materialand fibrous material, coagulating and hardening said resinous materialto reinforce the outer surface of said package by increasing thestrength of said primary wrapper snfliciently to resist wear duringhandling and shipping, said coating of resinous material and fibrousmaterial imparting rigidity to said coated portion of said primarywrapper.

2. A method of packaging as set forth in claim 1 in which said resinousmaterial partially impregnates said primary wrapper so that saidresinous material adheres to said primary wrapper duing handling andshipping.

3. A method of packaging which comprises the steps of gathering theitems to be packaged, Wrapping the gathered items with a primary wrapperof relatively light weight packaging material to form a package, saidpackage Wrapped with said primary wrapper having insuflicient strengthto resist wear during shipping and handling, and thereafter sprayingsaid primary wrapper simultaneously with a resinous material and afibrous material, coagulating and hardening said resinous material toprovide a rigid external surface to said package, said resinous materialand fibrous material imparting strength, rigidity and wearing qualitiesto said primary wrapper so that said primary 'wrapper has suflicientstrength to resist wear during handling and shipping, said resinousmaterial being liquid 'begin able to coagulate and harden atapproximately the same temperatures.

References Cited in the file of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS atapproximately 4090 F. and also-

